Philadelphia Uber driver helps passenger who suffered brain hemorrhage

ABINGTON, Pennsylvania — Inside Abington Hospital, there’s a man who has spent nearly a week fighting for his life. But before he was a patient, he was a passenger inside Taras Zvir’s Uber.

“Right off the bat, you could tell he was a really nice person,” said Zvir, who only started driving for Uber last year when he started his own production company.

He had a little extra time last Tuesday, so he decided to go on the clock with his side gig and pick up Uber passengers.

The Northern Liberties resident, though, never could have imagined the situation that unfolded when 41-year-old Justin Anderson ordered a ride to his new job. When they arrived, Anderson experienced a sudden emergency.

“I noticed he was just sweating. He was sweating pretty bad. I was immediately like, ‘Oh my God, are you OK?’ And he pointed his one finger like, ‘Give me a minute,'” said Zvir.

Doctors would later discover it was a brain hemorrhage, a condition that can turn fatal quickly. So Zvir had to think quickly.

“He started going in and out, and he was completely unconscious, so I immediately picked up, called 911,” said Zvir, adding that the 911 operator instructed him to begin life-saving measures.

“I opened the door, took him out of the car, and laid him flat on the ground. I just started doing CPR,” he said.

Zvir estimates he performed CPR for about 6-8 minutes as paramedics made their way to the scene.

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They rushed Anderson to the hospital.

Action News spoke with his mother, who said doctors discovered a large bleed on the right side of his brain. It was due to a condition he likely has had his whole life but never knew about.

Anderson had emergency surgery. He’s recovering but is still unconscious.

Anderson thinks being in that Uber saved her son’s life because Zvir was there to help right away.

Zvir, too, is thankful and hopeful that Anderson will be OK. “Hopefully, he recovers,” he said.

Anderson’s mother says he did make some progress in his recovery, but he’s still got a long way to go.